Hi All, Sorry if this is old new, but I wondered what everyone thought about this bit of info from the new BKFA site. "New Instructor Notice It is now a standard requirement of the BKFA that anyone wanting to become an Instructor, will have to pass their black sash grading with a minimum C grade pass. This has been implemented to ensure the standard of Kung Fu being taught meets the standard requirements of the BKFA. Anyone failing to achieve a C pass will be offered an opportunity to re-grade. There is a fee charged for re-examination and will have to be arranged through your Instructor. Instructors are to contact Master Yau." To me it starts off really good, saying that just because you pass your black it doesn't mean you're good enough to teach. I believe this was implemented due to the low standard of black sash applicants that attended the last grading back in June. But then the bit about having to pay a fee for re-examination sounds a bit like a new money making scheme. I think that it is a very good idea to restrict the teaching to the better black sashes, but that you should not have to pay to resit. Another big point about this is, what about all the people that passed last year of the year before that that are already teaching? It would be difficult to enforce this if it was back dated.
I'd rather remain independant, I've seen a lot of BKFA instructors that weren't fit to fight their way out of paper bag let alone instruct anyone
I read the fee as money grabbing at first. But I think in the case of those who would just test and test over and over, it would be incentive to train harder the first time round.
I suppose a lot of it has to do with the instructors of the black sash candidates too. Are they sending people too soon for their black sash gradings maybe?
I'd say that is exactly the problem. The candidate wants to pass their black sash. Once they get brown, the dream of black becomes a reality. If an instructor says the candidate is good enough then the person will go for it. So really it is the fault of the teacher, not the student. I was up at the grading in June and saw some really poor performances of techniques and especially the forms. Some so bad that I didn't really recognise the forms for what they were meant to be. Having spoken to some of the students, I found that many had only trained for about 4 years or so. Not nearly long enough to sit the grade (in my opinion). One comment was " I don't care what grade I get, so long as I pass my black sash". Well.............this new rule will have wee'd on a few fires I think. Thinking about the money aspect though.... A good point was made about testing and retesting. If the price is high and the re-test fee also high it will stop chancers from "giving it a go".
i belive one of the guys from the last black sash grading trained once a week for 4 years.........not a suprise he didnt pass.....
Wow, I have been doing it on average twice a week for nearly 3 years and am no where near ready! The instructor surely shouldn't have said they were ready- it can't make the instructor look good if their students aren't passing their gradings. It's good that people do fail though for not being good enough and don't just get passed for the sake of it.
Surely this whole system just raises a host of questions about the worth of the black belt grading. Instead of this rule, making the black belt grading more rigourous would make more sense.
I was wondering about the grades About making the grades harder, I don't know, if a person can pass without being up to standards then I doubt it'll make a difference. I think what standards are set, be it harder or easier, should be stuck to and if people don't match up they fail, period. Just a random thought, is it any harder to pass now than it was 50 years ago?
That is just the problem, well, cause really. The black belt grading is very rigorous and very few people passed the last one. I think it peed Master Yau off and he decided to do something about it. For earlier grading the techniches are marked out of 10. So (totally making this up off the top of my head) a C could be 6-7, a B could be 8-9 and an A could be a 10. Though I doubt it is as simple as that. These would be based on the average results for each section of the grading but bear in mind you can't fail any part of it and still pass.
I'm curious, is there a set criteria for testing or is it provided to the BKFA from the system's representative? If two different systems have students testing for their grade, do they not each do their own requirements, or do they also have to do what's dictated by the BKFA?
Ah this goes back to the BKFA is not just lau gar thing again. Sorry, the thing being discussed is the Black sash requirement for BKFA Lau Gar. If you wish to grade for black with the BKFA then you have to be part of the BKFA. If you are part of a different system then the requirements may be different. Hope that made sence.
It does make sense. My system is a closed door independant so we do not deal with the BKFA and was just curious cause it seemed like everyone was required to do the same thing. Thanks for the insight
Interesting you should say that, there was a time when nothing could have been further from the truth
Well done to your guys. I know Sifu Virk well and his standards are higher than many teachers in the BKFA. My student also passed, fortunately with a grade above this new minimum level. Just as well really as he takes my class when i'm not there.